What can Hong Kong's students of English do during this coming summer to breathe new life into their second-language learning? Whatever you and your family do, wherever you may go, this is surely a year to be different.

It is time to remind ourselves of the inherent truthfulness of the old adage that says: 'If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.' Instead of forcing our young English learners into more and more tutorial classes in formal grammar, why not enrol them in courses which make use of English to teach something else?

Have you ever considered a yoga class, a cooking class, learning how to paint or swim? If the youngster can learn a new hobby or skill from an English-speaking instructor, there's every chance of double happiness, as the child learns a new pastime and enjoys interaction in another language.

If the child is unable to pursue a recreational class in English, there is nothing to stop them going to a library or a bookshop and looking for some English-language 'how to' books in the children's section. With a carefully chosen, illustrated guidebook, our students could learn how to set up an aquarium, use a video camera, make a kite or even play the guitar.

Let's breathe fresh air into our students' English reading this summer. They could learn Backgammon, cartooning, computer spreadsheets, origami or even palm-reading. Give their summer reading a fresh purpose this year. For anyone still contemplating a formal English course, do take a fresh look at the ways in which the classes will be conducted.

If it looks too much like regular school, then it is not suitable for the fresh-air-seeking students. Look for classes run by native-speaking teachers, as they will, almost certainly, emphasise the communicative aspects of the language.

Parents are also urged to take a fresh look at the place of written English in their children's language development. What are they writing, and why? Isn't it far easier to write when we truly have something to say?

Suggest that your children keep a daily diary in English, in which they collect a picture or a phrase-of-the-day from radio or television.

Encourage them to write about the items that they have chosen. If your family is fortunate enough to travel to another country this summer, make certain that your English-learning children use their second language at least five times a day, ordering food, going shopping or asking for directions.

As listening is the most fundamental language skill of all, and the one upon which all the others depend, you'll need to maintain your children's English listening prowess over the summer months. How can you do that? Radio news broadcasts are a gift for the language learner.

Record one and compare it with the same day's news in the children's mother tongue. Choose one small item to discuss and understand in full. Make sure that your children get to hear English spoken every day.

There are so many things that parents and students can do with English in a city like Hong Kong, both formally and informally. The important thing is not to stand still. If learners truly seek out another language, it will come to them.

In the summer of 2003, you can't go wrong as long as you actively seek 'fresh air' for your young language learner.

Pauline Bunce is a humanities teacher at Hong Kong International School